Our Paths to Hell
by Erikovic
Summary: Nagashima, Japan, 1573. Konngara is a jaded, bitter samurai who lacks a master and a purpose in her life, roaming Japan aimlessly. An unexpected meeting with a girl named Kikuri will change her life in various ways, and lead to who she is now.


_This is a story that describes the (human) past of Konngara and Kikuri, including romance between the two as well. This is a work of fiction and none of this is stated canonically in the Touhou Project._

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They say a samurai without a master has absolutely no reason to be alive for. There were a few samurai who had no master during the Sengoku era in Japan, wandering about and looking for someone to serve, a point for their presumably pathetic lives. Those samurai were called the Rounin. This is the story of a merciless, bitter rounin, in the search of somebody to protect and a purpose in her life.

It was a sunny, hot day of the summer in August, 1573, in Feudal Japan, close to Nagashima. The infamous swordswoman, Konngara, was strolling through the green fields on her way to Nagashima, as she had heard about Nobunaga's unsuccessful invasion in the Ikko-ikki fortresses the previous month. Slow walk, complete silence; those are the things that characterized her best during her travels. Her blunt, emotionless expression has remained on her face as long as she could remember. It was impossible to understand her emotions just from her facial expression.

Konngara started to get pretty well known around these parts. Wherever she arrived, people feared her and shut themselves in their homes, seeking protection. But that's because of the rumors they had heard, of the blood she has shed, of the people she has mercilessly killed without a reason. However, that was all rumors. She had honor. She would never take the life of an innocent person, even if she wanted to. But anyone who stood in her way or treated the innocent like a piece of worthless garbage would never survive the might of her sword. What a shame it is, for facts to alter and turn into false pieces of information as they're told from mouth to mouth. But it cannot be avoided, that's how the world works after all.

After a couple of hours of endless, empty thoughts and lots of walking, Nagashima was now visible in her range of sight. "I'm getting close." She thought to herself. And to think she wasn't in the least exhausted; isn't that bizarre? "I wonder what lies ahead of me this time." And her thoughts faded once again as she continued walking.

She had seen a lot of things during her journey; massacres, kidnappings, vandalisms, and lots, lots of blood. Those have corrupted her idea of the world. However, that's not the end of it. Death and misery isn't all she has witnessed. Happy families and mothers, holding their newborn children in their arms, crying out of happiness and laughing as well. Because the world is balanced, good things happen just as much as bad things do. But what happens if the bad overcomes the good? The balance is ruined, and people lose their faith.

"Let go of me!" The panicked voice of a female echoed through the woods, reaching Konngara's ears, and interrupting her thoughts. Konngara turned her head towards what she believed was the source of the voice, without being startled. She could hear the female's voice clearly be muffled up, like someone was trying to keep her quiet. The young swordswoman rushed to the female victim, only to be greeted with the scene of two bandits mugging her and abusing her. Konngara failed to panic in the slightest, and drew her sword from its case slowly and loudly enough to alarm the bandits. Both of them turned their heads around, obviously surprised. However, from the smirks and the words that followed after, they did not seem to recognize Konngara. Maybe, she was not that well known after all.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said one of the crooks, turning his back to his partner and his victim.

"A woman with a sword, attempting to help this poor little girl? How cute." He chuckled. The young victim attempted to say something, or maybe scream, but her mouth was covered by the other bandit's hand. You could almost see that she was quite relieved when Konngara showed up, just from looking into her teary eyes.

Oddly enough though, Konngara remained quiet. Silence fell around the area; a small breeze blew through the leaves of the trees, as she approached the bandits slowly, holding on to her sword.

"Oh you're quite ignorant, aren't you?!" The crook grabbed a small dagger and charged at Konngara, intending to stab her chest. Konngara however was more than prepared. The moment he got near her, she dodged his attack and impaled his heart with her sword, ending his life in a matter of seconds. The other bandit, absolutely terrified, threatened to slit the victim's throat if Konngara made another move; but her movements were simply way too fast. The infamous swordswoman kicked the dagger away from the bandit's hands before he could react. He tried to run away in the thought he could save his life, but Konngara's mighty blade had already pierced his chest. And so, the crook's body fell on the ground as she put her sword back in its case and turned to the helpless girl.

"Are you alright?" said Konngara without a change of emotion on her face. The unknown girl seemed absolutely horrified by what she had just witnessed, both the deaths and Konngara's sword skills. She managed to speak nonetheless. "Y-yes… I am…" she murmured. "Thank you for saving my life, dear lady!" She lifted her head and looked up to the swordswoman's face with gratitude.

Konngara looked at her closely. The girl had long, wavy hair in the color of honey and big, golden eyes as bright as the sun. She was wearing a kimono in what seemed to be the color of bronze, with a pure white ribbon. She looked rather petite, but she didn't seem too young.

"I'm Kikuri." She said as she smiled. "I live here in Nagashima. Where are you from, fair lady? What is your name?" Konngara remained silent at first, trying to tell her wordlessly that she had no intention of sharing any kind of information with her. However, the girl insisted.

"My name is Konngara. I have no descent." She said.

Kikuri was curiously looking all over the young warrior. Konngara was starting to feel uncomfortable by that, but letting her know would be a sign of weakness; or that's what she thought, at least.

"Oh I see…" the young maiden still wanted to find out more about Konngara, apparently. Maybe she had taken interest in her? "Nagashima is really safe because of the monks' supervision, but when I stroll on the outskirts, I always seem to get in trouble and be unable to protect myself…" she murmured, with a bit of disappointment shown on her face.

"Just stay safe." Said Konngara. "Do not stroll in the outskirts, that's all there is to it. Goodbye." And with those words, she left and headed towards Nagashima, leaving Kikuri behind, full of questions.

What a weird exit though. Didn't it seem like she rushed the situation just to get away? Why would she feel uncomfortable enough to bail the conversation like that?

Konngara walked through all of Nagashima, exploring every spot of the region and asking citizens and monks, which were actually willing to talk to her, about Nobunaga's previous invasions and the damage they caused. It was a first for her not to get in trouble for a whole day upon entering a new place. There's always someone who had heard about those so-called rumors that are being spread around, who takes them a bit too seriously and decides to mess with her, or attempt to kick her out of the village or area she's in. The aftermath varies depending on the innocence and behavior of the person misbehaving towards Konngara. They either end up dead or she ends up leaving just like she was told. Sometimes, the aftermath may even depend on her mood. Maybe the person she would slay would die simply because of their awful manner or character. Is that unfair, or is it not? Konngara's justice differs from other people, and perhaps that is one of the most noticeable characteristics about her.

Time passes as quick as cherry blossoms fade away, and the sun has set. The night sky is filled with beautiful stars, decorating it in the prettiest way possible. The crescent moon shone bright and cloaked the darkness with a radiant veil of light. The swordswoman was seen relaxing by the sea, which is also another rare thing of her to do. Starring at the moon, she questioned her own existence, as all she did was roam from region to region and village to village in Japan, even use means of transport like a boat to explore the islands as well. Truly a pity, for such a skillful and potentially loyal warrior to roam the lands alone with no purpose…

Complete silence had enveloped the area, as the only things that could be heard would be the tiny waves of the sea. Konngara was drowned deep within her thoughts, starring into the ocean's depths, thinking, and thinking, and thinking. That was her only nightmare; thoughts. They tortured her every day. And she could find no means of escape. But just as she was falling deep within her own bottomless pit in her mind, she heard a voice.

"Konngara."

Everything stopped. Her tormenting thinking, her personal little torture. Everything. She felt like she went deaf for a second. She felt like she went blind. Just for one second. But then, she turned around, only to be greeted with the sight of a maiden in a bronze and white kimono, with golden hair and eyes.

"Kikuri." she whispered. For the first time in a long time, you could notice an emotion in her expression. Surprise! That's what she felt. Her eyes had widened, as she laid her eyes upon the girl bathed by the moonlight. It was obvious; she was shocked. She did not expect that.

"I have a request for you." Said Kikuri. Konngara did not notice until now, but the maiden was holding a flower. What kind of flower it was, she couldn't tell. But she did not care. She could not helped but wonder why she had brought it along. Nevertheless, what would a girl like her want from a bitter swordswoman like herself?

"Will you…" Kikuri paused. Konngara remained shocked. Wind blew all of a sudden, the sound of the waves got louder and prettier, and some of the petals from the flower Kikuri was holding got blown away.

"Will you be my samurai?"

_To be continued._


End file.
